By Ben Prater Wild South Conservation Director

What is a drought?
Do you know what a drought is? Most of us think of it as “no rainfall", but it's not that simple. Drought is when you have less rain or snow that you expect over a long period of time, usually several months or more. Droughts are a normal part of climate and can happen anywhere on the earth. Sometimes droughts can be long lasting and severe. The droughts we experienced in the Southeast in 2007 were very severe. In fact the droughts in Georgia and Alabama were some of the worst in the country. How did this drought affect you? What did you hear people say about the drought?

How does a drought affect people?
During a drought the amount of water available for us to use is reduced. We need water for almost everything we do. Humans use water for much more than just to drink. Because our lifestyles demand so much water, people can play a big part in a drought. Many of us may not even realize how droughts affect us until things get bad and there is not enough water to go around. We have to be careful to use only the water we need and to conserve water whenever possible.

The reason we have to conserve water is because we have to share water with all of the other living things around us. All living things, including humans, require a certain amount of water to live. Think about how hard it would be to just go one day without water. Water is truly a precious resource.

What can happen with a drought?
When a drought occurs lakes become lower, rivers get shallow, and small streams and creeks may even dry up. These areas are not only important sources of water, they are also habitat for many animals. So when the water gets low there are fewer habitats available for all the creatures that live in the water.

Droughts can have major impacts on land too. Dry conditions during droughts can cause forest fires, soil erosion, and damage to plants, animals, and their habitat. Sometimes the damage is only temporary, and conditions return to normal when the drought is over. But sometimes a drought's impact on the environment can last a long time, or may even become permanent if, for example, an endangered species was lost because of low stream flows.

What can I do to conserve water?
You don’t have to wait for a drought to start getting serious about conserving water. It’s best to be “water wise” everyday and work to reduce the amount of water we waste. Here is a list of simple things you can do to conserve water and help everyone around you, too:

1) By turning off the water while we brush our teeth or shave, we can save up to 10 gallons a day.

2) Stop using the toilet as a waste basket. Every time you flush a spider, facial tissue, or some other small bit of trash down the toilet, you waste 3-7 gallons of water.

3) Wash only full loads of laundry. Most washers use between 30 and 45 gallons per load. That’s a lot of water for three tee-shirts

4) Don't run the hose while washing the car. Soap down the car with a pail of soapy water then use the hose to rinse it off.

5) Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator. This ends the wasteful practice of running tap water to cool it off for drinking.

To learn more about how much water you use everyday try this fun activity. Visit this website http://ans.engr.wisc.edu/eic/WaterForm.html and use the Personal Environmental Impact Calculator to learn more!